A teenager who sexually assaulted a 90-year-old dementia patient after breaking into a care home has been jailed for more than six years.

The attack happened at the end of an hour-long rampage in which Reece Jones followed women home and pleasured himself in the street.

He was just 18 at the time and clearly he shows remorse. The remorse is genuine and he is truly ashamed of what went on that night.

Defence lawyer Neil Guest

A judge heard that before he broke into the care home he was heard screaming obscene comments at passing women.

Chip shop worker Jones sighed deeply in the dock and briefly closed his eyes as he was jailed for six-and-a-half years.

A care home assistant found Jones, who had just turned 18, in the pensioner’s bed, after he removed her nightdress and pulled her on top of him.

The offences occurred in the early hours of September 6 last year.

Three young women were walking home after a night out when they became concerned with the behaviour of a man. As they walked up the road, he jumped out from behind a bush and started following them.

One of the women called 999. However, Jones demanded to know which one wanted to ‘ride him first’. Terrified, they flagged down a passing car and fled the scene.

Minutes later, Jones turned up at the care home and got in through a ground floor window.

Prosecuting, Kevin Barry, told the court: “He went to the victim’s room. Exactly what happened can’t be said. The victim is and was too ill to give a statement.

“One of the care workers was on the rounds at 3.45am and tried the victim’s door, but it had been locked. This was unusual as the victim could not get out of bed by herself.

“The care home worker saw the defendant lying on his back on the victim’s bed. He had lifted the 90-year-old lady on top of him. The defendant initially had his eyes closed. The care home worker poked him and he said, oh my gosh, and pushed the victim off him.”

The court heard the pensioner’s nightdress was at the end of her bed.

Jones fled through a window, but was arrested later that day.

A statement from the pensioner’s son said he and his family had suffered ‘indescribable pain’ as a result of the incident and the frail woman would have been unable to fight him off or even call out for help.

Jones has one previous conviction for stealing a bag of crisps from a cafe in 2013.

Defending, Neil Guest said: “A custodial sentence of some length is inevitable and I don’t dispute that. The question is not what, but for how long.

“He was just 18 at the time and clearly he shows remorse. The remorse is genuine and he is truly ashamed of what went on that night.

‘He has been in custody for seven months and has made efforts to improve himself in that time.

“Before this incident, he was employed at a chip shop. His family is supportive and they have difficulty comprehending what went wrong.

“His mother noticed a difficulty with alcohol. Cannabis and drink will no longer be a part of his life, of that he is adamant.

“It was one hour of offending. This is a young man who will not trouble the courts again, he has learned his lesson.”

Jones, of Woodfield Road, Princes Risborough, admitted one count of outraging public decency, one count of trespassing with the intent to commit a sexual offence, and one count of sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder.

Judge Karen Holt told him: “You were just 18 when you committed these offences. They all occurred within an hour or so.

“You say you had had an enormous amount to drink. I have no doubt you were in drink, however, you were able to find the victim’s bedroom.

“The victim’s son told the court his mother suffers from severe dementia and cannot communicate, so she was unable to explain what happened to her. She has been bed-bound for four years.

“His only comfort is that due to the severity of her condition, his mother is unable to recall what happened.”

Jones stared straight ahead and looked blank, before sighing deeply and rubbing his eyes as he was led back to his cell.

He was sentenced to six months behind bars for outraging public decency, six years for trespass with the intent to commit a sexual offence, to run consecutively, and 18 months for sexual activity with a person with a mental disorder, to run concurrently.